According to the Ministry of Finance’s official website, all foreigners and permanent residents seeking to conduct business in The Bahamas must submit a project proposal to the Bahamas Investment Authority (BIA). The BIA operates as a “one-stop shop” to assist investors in navigating the approval process across the various government departments and agencies, ensuring that all requirements are met before the investment application is forwarded to the National Economic Council or the Cabinet for approval. BIA services are available to all investors whose projects meet the minimum investment threshold of BSD 500,000 (approx. USD 500,000).
The BIA’s Project Proposal Guidelines set out the information and documentation that investors are required to submit, in line with the National Investment Policy. This includes, inter alia, the designation of a local representative (such as an attorney, accountant or agent) and the provision of an environmental impact assessment. It has been reported, however, that companies have raised concerns about significant delays in the FDI approval process, including instances in which the government has reportedly failed to respond to investment applications.

According to Art. 18 of the Patents Act 2024, where an applicant’s ordinary residence or principal place of business is outside The Bahamas, the applicant must provide an address for service within The Bahamas.
In addition, under Art. 9 of Patents Regulations 2025, every person with an interest in proceedings to which the Regulations apply, as well as every patentee, must furnish the Registrar with an address for service in The Bahamas. The address must include the street address and any other information necessary to enable the place of business or location of the person to be easily identified, and may be supplemented by an electronic address for service.

The Bahamas is not a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).

The Bahamas has a clear regime of copyright exceptions that follows the fair dealing model, which enables the lawful use of copyrighted work by others without obtaining permission. Part VII of the Copyright Act of 2024 lists the exceptions, which include: research, private study, and criticism, among others.

The Bahamas has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

The Bahamas has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

The Bahamas lacks a comprehensive framework in place that provides effective protection of trade secrets, but there are limited measures addressing some issues related to them. According to Art. 23 of the Freedom of Information Act 2017, a record is exempt from disclosure to the public if such disclosure relates to information acquired by a public authority from business, commercial or financial undertakings, and (a) the information relates to trade secrets or other matters of business, commercial or financial nature; or (ii) the disclosure of the information would be likely to expose the undertaking to a disadvantage. Moreover, it is reported that trade secrets may be protected by contract or by common law.

China has adopted national legislation based on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Signatures, namely the Electronic Signature Law.

It is reported that challenges persist in relation to the licensing process for foreign suppliers of electronic payment services in China, where, prior to June 2017, foreign providers were not permitted to apply for licences until the central bank formalised a two-stage licensing framework. As of 2020, no foreign supplier had successfully obtained the licence required to operate in the Chinese market, largely due to procedural delays attributable to the central bank, although that same year American Express became the first foreign provider to secure such a licence, followed by Mastercard in November 2023 after prolonged delays, while the central bank has continued to defer action on the application submitted by Visa for an even longer period, and additional difficulties have been reported in relation to licensing requirements for non-bank providers of online payment services, thereby reinforcing existing barriers to entry into the Chinese market.

According to Art. 45 of the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on Import and Export Duties (中华人民共和国进出口关税条例), goods within a single consignment, for which the estimated duties do not exceed 50 Yuan (approx. USD 7.5) shall be exempt from duties. In addition, it is reported that China Customs also applies a dedicated e-commerce clearance channel with a goods value de minimis of 5,000 RMB (approx. 700 USD), subject to meeting certain conditions, such as prior carrier and platform registration. Use of this channel is limited to an annual cap of RMB 26,000 (approx. USD 3,600).

According to Art. 53 of the Personal Information Protection Law, personal information processors outside the territory of the People's Republic of China, as specified in Art. 3, shall set up specialised agencies or designate representatives within the territory of the People's Republic of China to be responsible for handling personal information protection related matters, and shall submit the names, contact information, and other information of the agencies and representatives to the departments with personal information protection duties.

According to Art. 5 of the Internet News Information Service Management Regulations, Internet news providers are required to obtain a permit to provide Internet news information services to the social public through Internet websites, application software, forums, blogs, microblogs, public accounts, instant messaging tools, online live streaming, and other such methods. Pursuant to Art. 6 of the regulations, the applicant’s person-in-charge or chief editor must be a Chinese citizen. In addition, the applicant must separately obtain an Internet Information Service license or file procedures with the telecommunications authorities in accordance with the law. In addition, according to Art. 6, to apply for an Internet news information service license, one must have places, facilities, and funds suitable for the service. The Regulations on Administrative Enforcement Procedures for Internet Information Content set out the procedural and administrative processes for the Cyberspace Administration of China to enforce the laws and regulations relating to Internet content.
These provisions broadened the definition of “internet news information services” to “services of collecting, editing, and releasing internet news information; reposting such news information; and providing a platform to spread such news information.” They also broaden the definition of “news information” to include relevant reports and commentaries on politics, the economy, military affairs, foreign affairs, and other public affairs, as well as relevant reports and commentaries on social emergencies.

The Consumer Rights and Interests Protection Law and the E-Commerce Law provide a comprehensive framework for consumer protection that also applies to online transactions.

China has signed but not ratified the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Use of Electronic Communications in International Contracts.

China has adopted national legislation based on or influenced by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Electronic Commerce.